Search for missing Bering Sea fisherman is suspended

Poor salmon run threatens treaty

FAIRBANKS‚ even with major cuts in subsistence fishing up and down the Yukon River, the number of king salmon that reach the Canadian border might not satisfy a treaty agreement between Alaska and Canada.

Researchers probe distribution patterns of king crab

Researchers from the University of Southampton have drawn together 200 years' worth of oceanographic knowledge to investigate the distribution of a notorious deep-sea giant - the king crab. The results, published this week in the Journal of Biogeography, reveal temperature as a driving force behind the divergence of a major seafloor predator; globally, and over tens of millions of years of Earth's history.

False reporting leads to a hefty fine for Alaskan vessel

A hired master, vessel owners and permit holders of the Alaskan fishing
vessel Trident have agreed to pay more than $18,000 in penalties and
$241,000 worth of sanctions for falsely reporting areas fished by the vessel
on five trips during 2006 and 2007.

Study: Hatchery fish inhibit survival of wild-born offspring

Hatchery-raised steelhead trout pass on genetic defects that hamper survival of even their wild-born offspring, according to a study that biologists say could lead to a radical shift in the way salmon breeding programs operate on the West Coast.

Fraser River season looks promising

Alaska Marine Conservation Council theft has devastating effects

Anchorage police are seeking a former employee suspected of stealing $100,000 from the Alaska Marine Conservation Council . The theft was disastrous for the Anchorage-based nonprofit organization, forcing staff furloughs and job losses, detectives say.

Yakama Nation, biologists work to restore sockeye run

The Yakama Nation Indian Tribe released sockeye salmon into a lake on the east slope of the Cascades Tuesday, marking yet another effort by Pacific Northwest tribes to restore fish in areas where they have long been extinct.

Emergency dredging for Ninilchik Harbor

After a storm surge late last month clogged up the entrance to the Ninilchik harbor so badly that the town's fleet of more than 75 commercial fishing vessels were having a hard time getting in or out, Icicle Seafoods' Homer facility manager Duff Hoyt knew he had a problem.

Gov. Palin tweets up a storm

After a few days off the grid, salmon fishing with her family and entertaining network TV correspondents in her waders in remote Dillingham, Alaska, soon-to-be-ex-Gov. Sarah Palin is tweeting up a storm.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Chum fishing begins on Yukon

What’s Sarah Palin’s political future?

The response to Sarah Palin’s announcement last week that she would quit as governor of Alaska at the end of July quickly turned from shock to irritation, even among some conservative commentators. Among Republican party ranks, there’s been division over whether she’ll have a role leading the party once out of office.

Stimulus funds to help Copper River spawning habitat

The Copper River Watershed Project and its community partners have been awarded $973,886 in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funding for salmon spawning habitat restoration at Eyak Lake in Cordova.

Bristol Bay escapement close to goals

The cumulative escapement to the Naknek River through 6 a.m. Thursday was 960,000 sockeye; the historic average through July 9 is 825,000. The cumulative escapement for the Kvichak River through 6 a.m. Thursday was nearly 1.7 million. The historic average is 1.6 million sockeye.